London

1 in 10 forlorn Londoners told us they only manage to take a single lunch break each week. More than half said they take all five, but a third miss at least one. 39% of women skip lunch entirely at least once a week, according to a survey by Costa Coffee. 25% of our pollsters take their full hour for lunch, despite everyone being entitled to it. Meanwhile, 54 per cent take between15 and 45 minutes, and a lucky 5 per cent of people take more than an hour on average. Seven is the number of days per year you are effectively working for your employer for free if you only average 30 minutes’ lunch every day. Which explains why you’re tempted to claw it back in spurious sickies. 41% of Londoners confessed to us that they feel under pressure from their employer not to take a full hour for lunch. 58% of our pollsters say that they ‘never’ drink alcohol with their lunch. Not even on a Friday when the computers are down and the boss is in the Maldives. Liars. 41% said they were less productive in the afternoon without a full hour. And 16% told us that they were actually less productive if they took their full allowance (that’ll be the drinkers, then). Sushiis what 3% of Londoners eat most of the time. But half of us plump for sarnies – the king of quick lunching by a long way. Salad is the most regular choice for 22 per cent. Soup is regularly slurped by another 3 per cent. Leftoverswas another response for commonly consumed lunch, as was ‘it depends on my carb intake’. Half of the City workers surveyed by the DLR said they always buy lunch from the same one or two places, citing lack of inspiration as a reason. If you feel uninspired too
Feature continues

Why does it matter?
‘It’s time for Londoners to stand up and reclaim their lunch hour,’ Nigel Stanley, head of campaigns at the TUC, told Time Out.
 
It's time for Londoners to stand up and reclaim their lunch hour. We say take a break, get a proper lunch and recharge your batteries before the afternoon grindstone starts.
And this doesn’t mean a rushed sandwich at your desk between phone calls. You should be able to get away from ringing phones and urgent emails and go for a walk, meet friends or whatever rocks your boat.   Modern workers do not want to be clock-watchers. We know that when there’s an emergency or a particularly busy time that it’s reasonable to skip part of your break. But this should be part of some give and take, with a longer lunch another day or other recognition of the time you have given up.
But too often this commitment gets taken for granted and a “lunch is for wimps” culture grips the workplace. This is all part of our long hours culture, when too many poor managers judge staff by how long they stay at their desks not by how well they do their job. Other countries are just as prosperous yet manage a civilised lunch break, and perhaps a siesta too.
Yet people perform better in the afternoon if they get a proper lunch, get a bit of exercise or know that they’ve had a chance to buy their kid’s tea. Indeed a chance to clear your head of immediate pressure gives you the chance to think more creatively.
Good ideas do not usually come in a ten-minute slot when your diary tells you ‘generate a good idea’, but at the gym, during a walk in the park or in a lunch-time concert. So it makes business sense to treat staff as grown-ups who can be trusted to manage their time properly.
Giving people the chance to eat properly matters too. What and whether you eat at lunch will affect your mood and concentration the rest of the day, and a consistently bad diet will cause long-term health problems.
The law gives some protection. You are entitled to a 20 minute break away from your work-station if you working for more than six hours. This is not exactly generous, but does at least stop a no lunch break rule or making people stay at their desks with a sandwich.

For more information visit www.tuc.org.uk">www.tuc.org.uk